The Blaze Within
by Nanner007
Summary: Link, the Hero of Time, has been requested to slay a fire demon within the depths of the Goron mines by the Goron Chieftain Darunia. On the verge of defeat, Link gains the upper-hand. But what if this demon has a contingency plan should it be defeated? What is this plan? And how will Link fare against this demonic power that seeps into his mind? [T to be safe] I don't own LoZ.


**AN: This story takes place in the adult timeline**

The path on Death Mountain was blisteringly hot in the midday summer heat. Link was on his way to Goron City, he was sent by Princess Zelda and requested by Darunia, the Goron chieftain, to slay a dangerous sword wielding fire demon. Being the hero and master swordsman that Link is, he accepted without hesitation.

The sun beat down on him as he wiped sweat from his brow with a gauntleted hand, his golden hair glistened with sweat. He could see the entrance to Goron City; he started walking again, back slightly hunched under the weight of his Hylian shield and the Master Sword. To be honest, they didn't feel as heavy as they used to when he defeated the evil king Ganondorf and saved Hyrule, little over two years ago. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling coming from the direction of Goron City, which turned out to be a Goron curled up and rolling towards him at high speeds. He dived to the side at the last second, being startled by the appearance of this Goron. Link jumped up and saw that the Goron was slowing down and turning back towards Link. Five feet away, the Goron uncurled and gave a shout to Link. "HEY, BROTHER!" It was Darunia, good friend and honorary brother of Link, he stood above 6 feet tall with four white hair spikes on the top of his head and a beard on his chin. He approached Link, with his arms stretched out for a big Goron hug. Link accepted the hug with some slight hesitation as he recalled the first time he received a hug from Darunia, he was ten and had just defeated the King Dodongo that had invaded the Goron mines. Compared to that time, which was excruciatingly painful, this hug was returned with gusto, and left Link with only minor back pain.

"Welcome! Thank you for coming to slay the demon! It has invaded one of our newer rock mines closer to the Death Mountain Crater. I'll tell you about it on the way." Darunia said as they released from the hug.

Darunia is the current Sage of Fire, he was killed by Volvagia, an ancient dragon who plagued the ancient Gorons of Death Mountain and was sealed away by an ancient Goron hero, and was reawakened by Ganondorf. Darunia set off to kill Volvagia, who had kidnapped most of the Gorons of Death Mountain. After Link defeated Ganondorf and decided to stay in the future, the three Goddesses decided to give each of the Sages new life and let them return to the mortal plane to stay with their friends and family.

As they approached Goron City, they saw a smaller Goron of about 3 feet in height waving to them. "Dad! Big brother Link!" He called to them. They waved back and continued their approach. Once they arrived at the entrance to Goron City, Darunia hefted his son up and placed him on his shoulders. Darunia had named his son after the hero who had killed the King Dodongo, which is Link.

"Hey Big Brother Link, are you here to defeat the fire monster in the mines?" The small goron questioned.

"Yes he is! He's the best swordsman and hero in all the lands, even better than your old man!" Darunia replied before Link had a chance to. Link just smiled and gave a shrug.

"Wow! Dad tried to defeat it using the Megaton Hammer, but he was defeated!" He said from on top of Darunia's shoulders. Link gave a questioning look to Darunia. Darunia sighed and said "Indeed, I was bested by this demon. He wields his word with speed and skill; but nothing you can't handle, I'm sure! I even had a squad of our best rock throwers with me!" Darunia then gave Link a hearty pat on the back, which only makes Link stumble forward a few inches. Darunia then realized that they had stopped walking. "Ah, yes! We should continue on!" He gestured towards the entrance to Goron City, and they proceeded to walk.

As soon as they entered, Link saw a handful of Gorons gathered just inside to welcome him. They started to cheer and crowd around him when he entered, a few gave him hearty pats on the back. There were some sayings of "the Hero!" and "Hero Link has come to save us again!" and stuff like that, from the Goron crowd. Darunia noticed Link looking a bit uncomfortable being crowded. "Alright everyone! Give Brother Link some room!" He shouted. The din made by the excited Gorons became quieter and they proceeded to spread out a bit more.

"Come Brother Link, let us talk in my office!" Darunia said as he lifted his son off of his shoulders, put him on the ground, and started walking through the crowd for the stairs; Link followed close behind him. Once they reached floor one, they went through a dark entryway that had a welcome mat directly in front of it.

The darkness soon turned to firelight as they entered a room lit by two torches in the far corners. The entryway is in the far left corner of the room The room has a rug in the center with a smaller rug in between the torches. The walls are decorated with Goron carvings. Two tables with pots on them are on the far right side of the room. But the most noticeable attribute is the statue of a Goron on the smaller rug at the far side.

Darunia then stood in front of this statue and addressed Link "Brother, you must be tired from your trip up the mountain, you must rest, then we'll take care of the demon." He then sat and gestured for Link to do the same adjacent to him. Link nodded and sat, pulled a bottle of water out from behind his back and drank half its contents in a single gulp.

Darunia just watched as Link put the bottle back in his pouch and froze up. Darunia blinked, when he opened his eyes, Link's Usual green Kokiri tunic and floppy hat had changed to the crimson red of his Goron tunic. Link just sat there adjusting his belt and Golden Gauntlets. Darunia just chuckled and shook his head. Link lightly smirked at his reaction reaction to him changing his tunic so fast, nobody except Link and his fairy Navi knew how he does it. Speaking of Navi…

Link reached up and lightly shook the top of his cap. Link and Darunia heard a small yawn come from within the hat, soon after a small blue head poked out of the brim to look around the room. "Darunia? Link! Why didn't you wake me when we arrived!?" The blue orb of light then flew around Link's head and bopped him on the forehead. Link just gave an innocent looking face and shrugged.

"Oh, don't tell me you just forgot about me! Hmph, shows how much of a child you still are!" She yelled with her arms crossed. Link just snickered at his fairy companion.

"Hello Navi." Darunia said as he addressed the fairy.

"Hello Chief Darunia. I need to be brought up to speed on what Link knows about this fire demon." Navi replied.

"Of course." Darunia then explained all that is known about the fire demon to the female fairy.

By the time Darunia fully relayed the information about the demon to Navi an hour had passed. Navi eyed Link out of the corner of her eye, how he was tapping his left index finger on his lap and somewhat erratic eye movement, he was getting antsy. Links love for fighting is great, he is minorly addicted to it; well, that's one of the effects of the few months of just fighting to save Hyrule. He's been getting more and more restless, since most action he gets is sparring with the knight trainees back in Hyrule Castle.

Navi then addressed to Darunia "Well, it seems that Link here is fully rested and is ready to take on this fire demon menace." Link perked up at hearing this.

"Ah, indeed. Let us be off!" Darunia then stood and motioned for Link to follow him. Link followed Darunia through a few newer hallways. When they passed a doorway that had a tapestry of a cauldron hanging on the top, a man in his mid-thirties popped his head out to greet Link.

"Ah! The Hero of Time!" He said in a raspy voice as he stepped out of his brewery to the halted party of three. "Hero, I am Belethor, a man of potions. And you, being the Hero of Time, must use a lot of potions. I have taken up shop here in Goron City to study the types of earth and minerals that the fine denizens of Goron City dig up, and their effects in potions. I just made a new potion that fully restores health, magic, and increases resistance to fire magic and extreme heat. I have dubbed it the 'Grey Potion'." He presented a bottle of Grey Potion to Link, who then took it, put it in his pouch, and pulled out his Giant's Wallet. But before he could reach in, Belethor held up his hands and said "Woah there, no need to pay, Hero." Link gave him a questioning look. "You see, this potion is still somewhat in the development phase. But I promise it will do everything I told you it will with no side effects. I just need to get some herbs to give it a better taste. And thank you for coming to rid these Gorons of that fiery demon." He said with a bit of uncertainty, then went back into his brewery.

"Strange little man, that one." Darunia said and they continued walking.

The farther they delved into the cave, the hotter it was getting, and the more enemies they had to slay. "We are nearing the cavern in which the demon has chosen to dwell." Darunia said as they turned another corner. "There's the entrance" he said as he pointed to a large ornate stone door. Link nodded and approached the door, Darunia followed him. He touched the door and it retracted into the roof of the cave, they went in and were met with a blast of heat coming from further down. Link observed the hallway, it was lit by several torches along the wall. Around thirty feet in, the hallway opened out into a big cavern. In the center stood the demon, a blazing man with fiery hair, holding a one-handed longsword with both hands and the tip planted into the ground, his eyes closed in waiting.

"I'll stay over here Brother, then I won't get in your way." Darunia said. Link turned his head to look at Darunia behind him and gave him a nod. "Oh, and take this, it might come in handy." He held out the Megaton Hammer for Link. Link took it, nodded in thanks, and put it in his pouch. He drew The Master Sword and his Hylian Shield, got into his ready stance, and slowly approached the demon. The demon then became active, opening his demonic eyes, slowly pulling his sword out of the ground to point it skyward. A ball of fire gathered at the tip, he then swung it vertically down, sending it flying towards Link. He dodged the fireball by rolling to the side, he looked towards where the fireball will impact. It impacted the caverns entrance, exploding, and collapsing the ceiling to separate Link from any reinforcements. Linked then turned his attention back to the demon.

 _ **FIERY SWORDSMAN: FLAMEO HOTMAN**_

 _(A.N: I'm horrible with naming things.)_

" **Perfect, the Hero of Time has fell into my trap."** The demons deep voice boomed around the cavern and surprised Link, none of the other bosses or mini bosses ever spoke to him or were capable of speaking. The surprise showed on Links face and the demon noticed.

" **Surprised? I am the only one of my brethren who could speak. Lord Ganondorf made sure I can, as I am his contingency plan."** At the mention of Ganondorf, Link furrowed his brow in anger. " **Hahahaha! You shall fall, Hyrule shall fall, and Lord Ganondorf shall rule all of Hyrule! RAAAAAH!"** He exclaimed as he rushed at Link, taking a swing for Link's legs. Link blocked with his shield and attacked in turn.

The battle continued on with the demon using his speed to land many cuts and wounds on Link. Link had attempted to get away and draw his bow and ice arrows, but the demon was too fast and caught up with Link, giving him another wound. Link couldn't pull out any of his other tools, or he would receive another wound for trying. The only chance he had to use an item was when the demon LET him drink the Grey Potion. Link focused on his sword skills, and eventually he pushed the demon back and found an opening to strike. The blow dealt to the fire demon was critical.

Suddenly the demon found himself losing as Link pressed his advantage of superior swordsmanship and tactics. " **NOOOO! I Refuse to lose!"** He shouted as he leapt away from Link. " **I. Will. Not. LOSE!"** He bellowed as he got an idea. He charged at Link, used the rest of his strength to knock Link's Hylian Shield out of the way, and latched onto Link's Goron tunic. He focused all of his power into his hands to send it into Link in hopes to kill him.

Link felt an immense buildup of magic in the demon's hands trying to force its way into his body. He started to struggle to get the demon off of him by bashing him with his Hylian Shield, but it didn't work in time before the magic was gushing into him. The last thing Link remembers before blacking out was a searing pain and a powerful heat flow into him.

 **AN: This is my first fanfic. I'm a complete noob to working this site. If anybody is willing to PM or something about how to utilize the line break, I'd appreciate it.**

 **If there are any spelling mistakes and/or aspects of the story I should do better on, feel free to tell me. I highly encourage critiquing, because it helps me write better, and therefore my stories will be more enjoyable. I have no idea when the next chapter will come out. It will probably depend on how this chapter does. Anyway, have great day (or night) and may the force be with you all!**


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